Supporters of state mental hospital to hold rally Monday night in Mandeville

Supporters of Southeast Louisiana Hospital will hold a rally Monday night in Mandeville to protest the state's decision to shutter the public metal health care facility as part of an effort to offset loses of Medicaid funding. Sponsored by Mandeville Mayor Donald Villere and the Committee to Save Southeast Louisiana Hospital, the event will be held at 6 p.m....

Supporters of Southeast Louisiana Hospital will hold a rally Monday night in Mandeville to protest the state's decision to shutter the public metal health care facility as part of an effort to offset loses of Medicaid funding. Sponsored by Mandeville Mayor Donald Villere and the Committee to Save Southeast Louisiana Hospital, the event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Mandeville Community Center, 3090 East Causeway Approach.

Committee members have urged the state to hold public hearings on the closure, and have pushed local legislators to call a special session to address the issue. Since the state announced its plan to close the hospital in July, supporters have held several rallies to call attention to the plight of patients and their families and to the need for mental health care facilities in the region.

Citing reduced federal money for Medicaid, the state Department of Heath and Hospitals announced in July it would close the hospital, which had 94 in-house patients earlier this year. State officials said the closure will save $1.6 million this fiscal year and $3.5 million in subsequent years. DHH said the state wants to ensure a sustainable behavioral care system for the future by de-emphasizing the role of large public institutions and instead building partnerships with community providers. In early October, the state began moving patients from the Mandeville hospital to similar state facilities in Pineville and Jackson.